💬 28-May-26 | All be TOGETHER to achieve | Paul Wotton appointed manager

Added: 2026-06-01

[00:00:00]Paul, first of all, great to meet you, and congratulations. You must be delighted.

[00:00:03]>> No, thank you very much. I am absolutely thrilled.

[00:00:06]Really excited to be here. It's a tremendous club, and uh feel very privileged to be the manager.

[00:00:12]>> Presumably, when you heard that the opportunity was there, you were in for on the radar straight away, as they say.

[00:00:16]>> Yeah, well, obviously, Adam did a very good job, and as moved on.

[00:00:22]You know, I heard of the interest.

[00:00:25]Obviously, very excited. Really keen to to meet Dean and and the chairman.

[00:00:30]And it's all gone very, very well. And, like I said, really pleased to be here.

[00:00:33]Excited. Just want to get going now.

[00:00:36]>> Clearly, you've got experience, particularly in National League South with Truro and Torquay United. That will stand you in good stead, really.

[00:00:43]>> Yeah, I've got experience in National League South.

[00:00:46]Played in the Championship, League One, League Two as assistant manager in League One and League Two for numerous years as well. So, I've been in football all my life since I left school.

[00:00:56]And, yeah, plenty of experience. So, you know, it's I back myself, definitely.

[00:01:01]And really looking forward to >> Any manager coming in at this time has to hit the ground running. Obviously, it's a very busy time of the year.

[00:01:08]Perhaps particularly so with Havant, cuz having gone through the playoffs, of course, they could be seen as being like 3 weeks behind other sides in terms of recruitment, really.

[00:01:14]>> Yeah, you could say we're a little bit behind the curve recruitment-wise, but, you know, the the hard work has already started. There'll always be loads of players, always. It's just choosing the right ones that that fit, you know, the personality of the football club, the DNA, the the ethos.

[00:01:30]The what I'm looking for in players.

[00:01:33]Like I said, it's started. It's It's always a really, really busy time, anyway. And, like I said, there's lots of players still still available, so it'll be good.

[00:01:42]>> Since it became public that you've got the job, have you had players contacting you?

[00:01:45]>> One or two, yeah.

[00:01:47]It's nonstop, you know. It's uh It's funny. Your phone's quiet, and then all of a sudden, your phone's blowing up.

[00:01:52]So, there's always agents and players contacting you. So, um Yeah, I'm very calm and relaxed about it and I'm sure we'll pick the right ones.

[00:02:00]>> I know Dean Holdsworth has been doing a lot of work in the background as regards the retained players, the ones Harris wants to keep.

[00:02:05]Would you be able to tell us if you can publish that list soon or >> I believe that's getting published on Monday.

[00:02:10]>> So, that's that's just around the corner then.

[00:02:13]And in terms of your background staff, how are you looking on that front?

[00:02:16]>> Yeah, we're getting there. Hopefully my my assistant will be confirmed today.

[00:02:20]Negotiations going on as we speak.

[00:02:23]And then there's already the existing staff that are here, which I'm looking forward to meeting next week and get going.

[00:02:30]>> Tell us about your sort of ethos when it comes to football. What style of football you like to play?

[00:02:34]>> Well, we all want to play beautiful football, all of us, you know, I'm a football purist.

[00:02:38]I like winning football, simple as that.

[00:02:41]I like to be front-footed, like my teams to be aggressive, strong. It's a very physical league. We're going to have to We're going to have to be ready for that.

[00:02:48]I like to play forward, plenty of entries in the box, and attacking football. And out of possession, like to go after teams. So, you know, it's just I like to play It's my ethos really, my philosophy is to try and win.

[00:03:02]>> It is a big step up though, isn't it, from either the North or the South to to the National League now?

[00:03:06]>> Absolutely. Yes, it's pretty much a professional league, isn't it? So, you know, there's some massive variation in budgets and so on, but it's We're looking forward to it, ready for the challenge.

[00:03:18]>> And if you look around Aggborough, as you will know, you've probably been here before, it's it's all here, isn't it?

[00:03:21]Everything's in place.

[00:03:22]>> No, it's perfect. I mean, the ground's great. You can see the pitch being re-laid now. The training ground's fantastic. I've actually played here.

[00:03:29]I've played here in a league game. I played here in an FA Cup game as well, a long time ago.

[00:03:34]The atmosphere is great, you know, the fan base is going to be critical to everything we do. They're really passionate, emotional group of fans, which is great.

[00:03:43]That's what I'm like as a as a person as well.

[00:03:46]We're going to have to make this an absolute fortress.

[00:03:49]>> Yes, they certainly got behind the side towards the end of the season they're were that great run through the playoffs.

[00:03:54]If you get off to a good start, you'll get that behind you, obviously.

[00:03:57]>> Absolutely, and that's, you know, it's important to get them all on side, of course.

[00:04:01]And but like I said, this is a it's a tremendous football club. You know, it's uh it's a really united football club.

[00:04:07]Everyone's together, and we're going to have to all be together to to achieve what we want to achieve.

[00:04:12]>> In terms of the retainers, you've obviously presumably been through that with Dean Holdsworth and that, so you know who the club wants to keep. Are you happy with that, or are you likely to make changes to that?

[00:04:20]>> No, I think we're we're pretty much there. We're pretty much there. Um there's a few phone calls to be made today.

[00:04:25]Um there's obviously some players under contract as well, so um you know, it's important I I I bring in the players that I want to bring in as well, and the players who don't want to be here anymore, then let them move on. That's football.

[00:04:36]>> And inevitably, there's a cutoff point with players who are offered deals, presumably. Um they've got a date by which they've got to make a decision.

[00:04:42]>> Yeah, there is, but like I said, it's um that's all in hand. That's all in hand, and uh the the retained and released list will will go out on Monday.

[00:04:50]>> You probably don't need me to tell you, but one position you're going to fill now is goalkeeper.

[00:04:54]>> Yeah. Yeah, and it's important position, isn't it? So, um yeah, like I said, it's it's that's part of the equipment. Um we we need a couple of goalkeepers.

[00:05:04]Uh and that's obviously really critical, you know, Dibble did very, very well. Uh he's good goalkeeper. We're going to have to make sure we replace him.

[00:05:13]>> What would your aims for next season be?

[00:05:14]Realistic aims.

[00:05:16]>> Um it it's we we've got to we've got to look up, you know, it's it's it's important to it's going to be a challenge, you know, we we all know that. Um but the the the ground here, the the club, the togetherness, a little bit of underdog, it's a good thing, you know, and you will um we'll go and try and upset a few people.

[00:05:38]>> Yes, cuz I would say there's a danger if some fans say "Well, the main aim is to survive." If you aim to survive, you can fall a bit short, you get relegated. If you aim for mid-table, you fall a bit short, you're still safe.

[00:05:48]>> Yeah, look, you you just got to go in and do as best as you possibly can.

[00:05:50]That's a really really boring answer, but you just got to go into every game believing you can win it, and we will.

[00:05:56]>> And uh in terms of the sort of players you're going to be looking at, are they sort of National League ex-Football League? How Where are you looking?

[00:06:01]>> I think National League experience is going to be really, really, really important.

[00:06:06]Um as I say, it's a big step up from the league below.

[00:06:09]Um Football League as well. You're going to need some experience. You're also going to need some young legs as well. Let's try to get a nice blend of all of that.

[00:06:16]>> And are you sort of a manager who likes to use the loan system? Most managers here have over the years.

[00:06:19]>> I think it's critical. I think it's going to be really, really important. Um so, we need to get the loans right. Um but those loans won't happen very rarely at the start of pre-season, you know, because managers want to keep their players in for pre-season um for numbers. So, um already, you know, making plans for that, and they'll be critical.

[00:06:39]>> And in terms of a scouting system, I only ask this cuz clearly your career at large has been based in the Southwest.

[00:06:43]Have you got a scouting system, um know, for other parts of the country?

[00:06:46]>> I know people all over the country.

[00:06:48]Um so, I live in Plymouth. I haven't always worked in Plymouth. So, it's um if you've been in professional football as long as I have, then I know uh my contact list is is very, very big.

[00:07:00]>> I assume you're not going to commute from Plymouth every day.

[00:07:02]>> Absolutely not. No, it's um No, I'm all in. Do you know what I mean?

[00:07:06]It's um when you're a football manager, you have to move. Simple as that. And uh no, I'm all in, and I'm I'm fully committed to King's Lynn Town.

[00:07:14]>> And presumably from here on in, it's going to be absolutely flat out. As I mentioned right at the start, you know, you're playing catch-up to a degree.

[00:07:19]It's not a huge amount, but you are playing catch-up to a degree.

[00:07:21]>> Catch-up to a degree, but it's um you know, it's for any manager at this stage of the season, it's full tilt anyway.

[00:07:27]So, it's uh you know, it's that's it's it's what I'm used to. You know, I I rebuilt a a squad at Torquay when I went in, there was there was one player. Um and I rebuilt a squad at at Truro as well. Um assistant manager at Plymouth Argyle, you're rebuilding all the time. So, it's recruitment part and parcel of football.

[00:07:44]>> And it's a project here, presumably.

[00:07:46]It's not going to happen overnight.

[00:07:47]>> It's not going to happen overnight. It's There's no quick fixes to anything in football.

[00:07:51]Um Now, we just work as hard as you possibly can. I'm thrilled that we've got the whole of pre-season to to work.

[00:07:57]You know, like I said, the training facilities are fantastic.

[00:08:00]Um And it's uh we just work hard every single day, try and get constant improvement. And we'll we'll give it a right good go on the pitch.

[00:08:08]>> It must have been a benefit having Dean Holden here, isn't it? Because obviously there's that degree of continuity to start with. He knows the players. But also, if you come in and you're starting cold from the ground up, um that would be very difficult.

[00:08:17]>> It's very difficult, you know. He's He's been great so far.

[00:08:20]Um When when we met, we got on straight away.

[00:08:24]Um chairman's great guy as well. So, um now we're all in.

[00:08:27]>> Final point, you know that there is obviously expectation. The club's on a bit of a high. It's just been promoted.

[00:08:33]It's managing that expectation to a degree as well.

[00:08:35]>> Well, the expectation will always be there in football. That That's It's part of the game.

[00:08:39]Um And I'm not here to dampen expectation at all. It's you know, it's um I said the fans of the fans football club is is on an up, you know, because they they achieved a a fantastic achievement last year. A great achievement. And I'll never take that away from anyone. So, we just got to try and keep that momentum going.

[00:08:57]>> Best of luck. Hope it goes really well for you.

[00:08:58]>> I really appreciate it. Thank you.